Life on Berk
by edge-of-bizarre
Summary: A little story about what the title says. Life on Berk has changed drastically since the first and now second movie, but for better and worse. This will follow the Berk teens (young adults more like) after httyd 2, with all the ridiculous things young adults could do in viking life.
1. Chapter 1: The Chief Returns

The cape was neatly folded on the table when he came home. His breath had caught in his throat as soon as he laid eyes on it and now he didn't know how long he had been staring at that last reminder. No note, no one to ask where it came from, though he had a feeling he knew who brought it, who would think of salvaging the cape and keeping it, who had been friends with the owner of the large fur cape to know that this is what he would have wanted.

Hiccup had managed to close the door as soon as he saw it, separating himself from the work outside and the ice that was left from the battle. The large metal disks were neatly stacked on top, those large brooches that he'd seen all his life. They now reflected the flickering firelight, sending a shimmer every now and again.

It felt like hours he stood there, his feet stuck to the floor, holding his breath and trying to work up the courage to walk over to it. Hiccup sucked in a deep breath, trying to get his mind to work again and managed to take a step forward, and then another, and soon he was standing over the object.

The brooches were big enough to see the reflection of his face, to see the fight against tears and the memories that the cape brought. From being bundled in it when he was a child to tugging on it to get his fathers attention, the cape had always been there, always signified the importance of the wearer.

Hiccup ran a hand over the polished surface, wondering if Gobber had done that as soon as they won the battle, making sure the cape was in it's rightful condition. But it felt strange. The cape and brooches were for a much larger man, someone who had shoulders strong enough and large enough to do them well, to carry them, to make them look as important as they are.

His shaking hands managed to remove the brooches, carefully setting them on the table, so gently that it wouldn't disturb the monstrous pieces of metal. The cape was a little worse for wear. It had been washed, but that was not enough to rid it off his scent. Hiccups hands grasped the fur, bringing it up to his chest and he could smell all of Berk, the scent of Meade Hall mixed with the ocean and the bitter wind that whipped around outside. It smelled of fish and the dragon stables and sheep. It smelled of the man that comforted and consoled and protected, not only everyone, but Hiccup. It was the smell that made him feel better after having nightmares. The smell that smiled at him when he had woken up and realized dragons were now a part of Berk.

The fur was warm and worn, even matted from years of wear and Hiccup pulled it away just in time for it to escape the tears that fell from his face, but that would have only added to the collection of tears this cape had seen.

He carefully unfolded it, making sure it did not touch the unworthy ground and ran a hand through the dark hair only to sharply inhale as his hand found a rough patch. Blackened spots littered the inside of the cape, giving it the faint smell of burnt hair. Burned fur was the end of the previous wearer and the new flood of emotions. His body had taken most of the blast, most of the life taking heat but the plasma blast had managed to wrap around him, to go through him. Hiccup had watched the purple light lick his fathers figure, curl around his large chest like a wave and he almost dropped the fur at the memory.

These black spots had been scrubbed, for they would have looked and smelled worse if they hadn't. Hiccup could see Gobber gently trying to rid the cape of the horrid imperfections; his face falling when he realized it was fruitless, that burns could never truly be undone.

The cape was meant for someone greater, meant for someone who could wear it, someone who could be worthy of it. But he knew that this was what his father would have wanted, this is what his people would have wanted. He pinned the cape with the large brooches just like his father had taught him, he could hear his voice now, saying you needed enough fur on the needle to avoid ripping it, but not too much that it wouldn't sit right.

Hiccup's nimble fingers did as his father had told him and soon he was pinning the brooches and cape onto his shoulders, feeling the weight of the metal and fur. The weight of the memories these objects held. The weight of responsibility that the cape signified. The weight of his people, his home, his family. But more importantly, the weight of his father, and the feeling of his hands on his shoulders as he watched his son lead Berk. The proud smile, the slight squeeze of his large hands that told Hiccup everything would be all right.

Hiccup even began to think that it was his father, that those brooches that weighed down his shoulders were his father's tough, strong yet so gentle hands. The cape felt like Stoick was standing right behind him, that he would be laughing and clapping him on the back and showing his son, the chief, to his people and for a second, that's how it was. He knew if he were to look, only metal, only fur would meet his gaze, so he closed his eyes and took a breathe, breathing in what was left of his fathers presence before letting it out, letting his father walk on ahead of him before opening the door and joining the others, helping rebuild Berk.

The chief had truly come home.

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it's been a long time since i've written anything... mostly because i was busy, second because i had to get over my embarrassment of other writings

anyway, i wrote this after seeing httyd 2, so i thought i'd begin with this because these drabbles are for the most part (there may be a few exceptions) be after httyd2


	2. Chapter 2: Bruised Apples and Bones

"I was thinking-" Snotlout began, leaning against the side of a house.

"_You_ were _thinking_?" Ruffnut scoffed, setting down an apple. She had been stuck with buying food at the market, and couldn't be bothered to check what food was good or not.

"You, me, a barrel of mead-" Ruffnut could see where this was going from a mile away.

"How about me, a barrel of mead and you drowning in it?" Ruffnut grunted, paying Bucket for a basket of fish.

"But babe-" Snotlout jumped in front of her, trying to keep her attention as she continued shopping.

"Get out of my way!" With a quick shove, Snotlout teetered but did not lose his balance as she had hoped.

"Don't be like this" He said, having to run to catch up with her.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, starting to feel weighted down by the baskets she carried and Snotlout.

"Here-" She quickly shoved the basket into his chest, and he enthusiastically took the other basket of food from her.

"Anything for you, princess" Snotlout smiled and Ruffnut made a dry heaving sound before returning to shopping. She kept an eye out. Normally Fishlegs would be here by now, not allowing Snotlout to spend more time with her than he could, which usually ended up in a fight where Ruffnut could make her escape.

"So… having a party?" Snotlout asked, easily shouldering another basket she practically threw at him.

"No. Tuffnut eats a lot" Ruffnut said, returning to the apples.

"What are you doing?" Snotlout asked as she picked a brown spotted one.

"Getting food, what the hell do you think I'm doing?" she sneered.

"Do you not know how to pick out food?" He said this almost as if he were realizing she didn't know how to hold a shield.

"What? Like you do?" Ruffnut scoffed, setting down the bruised apple.

"I do all the shopping" He pushed her aside, picking out the best apples he could find. It was true, his father was always busy being second in command, so normal errands normally fell on him.

"This is the lamest thing I've ever seen you do" Ruffnut said, hands on her hips as he inspected another apple.

"No it's not!" He shot back. "Besides, you might as well get what you're paying for and I don't want a princess to be eating bruised apples"

"Oh my gods" Ruffnut couldn't help but smile. He looked so serious about this, and it was even funnier when the owner of said apple stand started telling Snotlout to buy something.

Before Ruffnut could pull out her money, Snotlout had quickly paid and was now trying to act like her knight in shining armor.

"Ugh, I'm going home" She grunted, swiping the basket him. He didn't move, looking annoyed that she wasn't happier. "What are you doing?"

"What?" Snotlout shot back.

"I'm going home, you have my stuff, leggo!" She said, giving him a shove. "Move"

"I'll carry you're stuff anytime you want" He said, giving her a smile. "I bet Fishlegs wont do that"

"Yeah, cause you're a real ass" Ruffnut said deadpan.

"But I could be your ass" That must have sounded more romantic in his head, but Ruffnut let out an accidental snort. She quickly stifled it, not wanting him to say he made her laugh and gave him a swift swipe to his head that left his helmet askew on his head but a smile on his face.

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rufflout, had to make this the next part. what to do next i wonder?


	3. Chapter 3: Itchy Armpit Date

Even with the peculiar name, Itchy armpit was lovely at this time of day. The sun barely showing, dipping under the horizon and leaving orange, red and purple streaks through the darkening sky.

Astrid hummed happily, leaning against Hiccup as Stormfly and Toothless played together behind them.

"Do you think they've noticed?" Hiccup asked with a smile.

"What? That their chief has gone missing? Eh- probably not" Astrid smiled, giving him a nudge in the ribs.

"I don't want to go back yeeeeet" He groaned, burying his face in her hood and hugging her tightly.

"Than don't" She giggled.

"But I have to" He groaned back, slumping over and pulling her with him.

"Gobber's gonna wonder where his lantern 'buddy' is" She tried to sound serious, but the wheeze Hiccup let out when she flopped on top of him was too much.

He sighed, and Astrid helped pull him back up.

"I can't believe it's been almost a year" He mumbled, pushing his auburn hair out of his eyes. Astrid could tell by his tone, the carefree air was gone.

"I know…" That's all she could say, and she hugged him tightly.

"Ok, lets go" He sighed, trying not to ruin their time together. He stood up and helped Astrid up, walking hand in hand to their dragons, who decided they'd rather have naptime than play time. The last of the leaves had fallen, one the few trees that could even have leaves to begin with. It had started to get colder, meaning the brevity that was summer was over and now winter was coming.

"Do you think they're still arguing?" Hiccup wondered, patting Toothless and giving him a good rub under the chin. One of the many reasons they had snuck off was their friends. Or two of them at least. The arguing between Snotlout and Fishlegs was increasing, almost becoming a daily ritual, usually it was centered on Ruffnut. She would take the moments of arguing to slip away and by the time they were done, they'd both begin their search for her again.

"Probably- I can't stand it" Astrid grumbled.

"Which part can't you stand? The constant fighting, the constant chasing Ruffnut, or the constant complaining about the other trying to date Ruffnut?" Hiccup asked, mounting Toothless.

"All of the above, but they're both so… bad at it" She cringed. She honestly felt bad for Ruffnut.

"Their determination is incredible" Hiccup said, watching Astrid mount Stormfly. "But right now, work should come before chasing girls."

"Says you" Astrid scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"You used to leave work at the forge to come flirt with me" She crossed her arms, a small smirk across her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about" He could feel his cheeks and ears heat up.

"'Haha what? You wanted that sword sharpened by tomorrow? I had no idea'" she mimicked his voice, making sure to add a voice crack or two from when they were teenagers.

"Ok, my voice… cracked a lot more than that, I am very disappointed in your impression of me" Hiccup turned away from her, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I still remember when Gobber would carry you by the back of your shirt back to the forge" she sighed, reminiscing.

"Thank you for brining that up" he huffed.

"I mean, he still does it now but it was funnier back- ok it's still funny now, but your feet would leave the ground-"

"I was adorable-"

"Still adorable-"

"I am still adorable, I know. But let's go so I can help Gobber" Snoggletog was in a month or so, but Gobber liked to start hanging lanterns earlier, mostly because he liked how they looked, and they certainly did brighten up Berk.

"I need to get ready for training tomorrow anyway" Astrid cracked her neck, deciding to sharpen her axe before bed. Hiccup opened his mouth, but she knew what he was going to say.

"No, you don't have to come" She smiled sweetly.

"Aw, I love you so much" He replied with a smile.

"I know" She said with a laugh before taking off.

"Hey!" Hiccup shouted after her. After all these years, she would still try to race him home, even if he had a Night fury. But then again, Astrid Hofferson could beat a Night fury.

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Fishlegs was getting desperate, though he couldn't let Snotlout know. But Tuffnut was a lifesaver.

"Oh, she_ loves _poetry" Tuffnut drawled, examining his fingernails. He thought about not opening the door, he thought about opening the door but with several other intentions in mind other than talking to Fishlegs, such as maybe setting barf and belch on him, setting Ruffnut on him, which would have been hilarious or maybe stabbing him for funsies, this whole 'helping' thing was tiring, even if fun.

"Wait- really?" Fishlegs was genuinely surprised. Ruffnut didn't seem like the type to enjoy it, but maybe she was?

"Oh yeah, _loves _it, the sappier, the better" He said, trying to hid his smirk.

"Thank you Tuffnut!" the larger boy said excitedly, before practically tripping over himself to get home and start writing.

Tuffnut smiled maliciously, hoping this would be as funny as he thought.

"Hey Tuff!" Tuffnut was about to close the door when he saw Snotlout running towards him. Some friend he was. There had been a time he was friends with Snotlout. It was the three of them, Snotlout, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, until Snotlout got over Astrid and Ruffnut became his goal.

"Ugh, what do you want?" Tuffnut grunted, crossing his arms and looking at the shorter boy.

"You wanna get a drink?" Tuffnut squinted at him, taken aback by what he said.

"Why?" the taller boy hissed.

"Uhm, because mead?" Snotlout looked at him as if he had three heads. Why wouldn't he want to go drinking? Tuffnut glared at him, not sure if he should agree or not.

"Don't be an idiot, come on, let's go!" Snotlout said impatiently.

"Fine." Tuffnut said, still squinting.

"Finally! Oh Uhm- does Ruffnut want to come?" Tuffnut knew there was something else going on.

"Ruffnut's dead, I went crazy and killed her-" he said deadpan.

"Tuff-"

"There can only be one Thorston twin!"

"You are such a fuckin idiot-" Snotlout rolled his eyes.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a mess to clean up" Tuffnut closed the door in Snotlout's face, satisfied by the loud huff outside.

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I think I'll actually turn this thing into a story? Wow, I know right.

I feel bad for Tuffnut, Tuffnut Snotlout and Ruffnut were friends but then his bro has feelings for his sister, ew

Please leave reviews if you can, it'd be amazing, even though this story is just starting right now.


	4. Chapter 4: Bonding Over Bruises

"Is that- the best you got?" The blonde asked, braid flying as she huffed, dodging his hammer yet again. It was a pleasantly sunny day on Berk, though that only added to the sweat that was running down her forehead. Weapons littered the Academy ground as Hookfang and Stormfly dozed by the water troughs.

"Is that the best_ you_ got?" Snotlout sneered, managing to smash his hammer into her shield.

"Are you even trying?" Astrid scoffed, brining her hammer down. It would have gotten him in the head if he hadn't gotten his shield up in time. "Slowing down?"

"You're slowing down" He spat back, breathing heavily.

"Really? I didn't notice not getting hit by a hammer" She smirked. Snotlout rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless, straightening out with a deep breath, feeling sore from sparring.

"If I really hit you, you wouldn't be smiling." He countered proudly. Now it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"Riiight- come on, put 'em up" she said, throwing down her hammer and shield.

"I'm not gonna-" He suddenly swung at her, which she dodged with ease. She had to admit, he was strong, even with his stature, but being agile was not something he was good at.

"Ruffnut tried to set me on fire today" Snotlout said suddenly, as if he wasn't in the middle of blocking her punch.

"Oh, barely noon yet, I think that's a new record" Astrid smiled.

"Haha, you're killing me- ow!" He rubbed his jaw where she had hit him. It didn't hurt that badly, but the surprise was enough.

"Snotlout, pay attention." They went back and forth, blocking, ducking, punching, the norm.

"So, did she get a good burn in?" Astrid asked, blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

"No… I don't get it! I am exactly what every girl wants, minus you, you're into dorks or whatever-" He ignored her slug to his arm.

"And what do girls love?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips since he obviously was done working out for the time being.

"Me! I'm the perfect Viking! I can punch things, I'm good looking, I have most of my teeth, I have a sweet mustache, great muscles, better than Eret's…" He grumbled the last part. He didn't have anything against the guy, aside from resenting him because Ruffnut loved him.

"I'm sure she _loves_ you breathing down her neck all the time." Astrid replied.

"Well if I don't, Fishlegs will- why is he even trying? He knows I am superior." Snotlout smiled and flexed, making Astrid laugh.

"I didn't know you knew what superior means" She smiled.

"Ok, maybe I heard Fishlegs say it one time- but whatever it means, it's true, I just don't get why she doesn't see it!" He huffed and sat on one of the benches.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, she burned that poem Fishlegs gave her" Astrid said, sitting next to him.

"Hahaha loser" Snotlout smirked.

"Hey, he's not the one she's buried, set on fire or dumped mead on- Snotlout, I don't think she's interested" The blonde watched him roll his eyes. She knew he wouldn't listen to her, but the constant fighting between Snotlout and Fishlegs over or with Ruffnut was getting out of hand.

"She'll come around." He said, but mostly to convince himself. There was no way he would lose that tall goddess of a Viking to a nerd or a wannabe dragon rider who had a ponytail.

"Have you ever thought dating –out- of Berk?"

"How could you even say that? I'm a Hairy Hooligan! My girlfriend has to be a Hairy Hooligan! That's the only tribe good enough for this" He motioned to himself.

"Well excuse me- I'm just saying, its good to keep and open mind and have a different plan- you don't wanna wake up grey haired and realize you wasted your time-" She only said the last part because she knew he would flip out at the grey hair comment.

"That was one time Astrid! I thought my hair was grey, Ruffnut put flour in my helmet- It's not funny!" He gave her a shove and she only laughed more, holding her sides.

"I'm sorry- ok no I'm not-" She almost had to wipe the tears out of her eyes. "Ok, ok, look, just stop picking fights with Fishlegs, you're driving everyone crazy, Hiccup just want's to get through a meeting where one of you doesn't try and put the other one down-" Astrid stood up, brushing herself off.

"It's not my fault." Snotlout crossed his arms, looking away. The majority of the time it was him pushing Fishlegs, who would always end up shoving back.

"Snot, you're… a good guy, even under all this macho, never taking a bath- what I'm trying to say, is Ruffnut doesn't like… literally anything you or Fishlegs does, just… maybe it's time to find a new angle." He watched her walk away, picking up her axe before she walked out of the Academy, Stormfly chasing after her.

"Find a new angle- what the hell-" Snotlout scoffed, mimicking Astrid and Hookfang woke up. He growled crankily, swiping his tail and making Snotlout fall off the bench.

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Hiccup had finally sat down to do work, but writing on parchment about trade routes and meetings wasn't exactly what he wanted to do. Soon he found himself outside, taking a much-needed break from chief work. He sat on the dock, Toothless curled up beside him, waiting until he knew Astrid would be done.

"Getting out of work?" A voice said behind him. He turned around to see his mother walking towards him.

"How did you know?" he asked with a smile.

"Your father did the same, except would be in the 'Kill Ring'" She sat down next to him. "Have the same "I'm supposed to be here" look on his face to act like he didn't have work to do"

"I know- I'm just waiting- for Astrid to finish training, I already met with Fishlegs" Hiccup said, pushing his hair back.

"And?" Valka asked, petting Toothless.

"Dragon migrations are normal, Bucket and Mulch have plenty of fish for the feeding stations and the house Grump flew through has been fixed" Hiccup said matter of factly.

"That's good- and the new houses?" She asked.

"All ready, Eret's moving into his tomorrow actually"

"See? You're doing well! I don't know why Astrid says you worry about being chief"

"She told you what?"

"Oh please, Astrid and I talk all the time, and she is a lovely girl." She patted hiccups arm. From the moment Astrid and Valka met each other, they had almost immediately become friends and Valka adored her.

"That's… unnerving" Hiccup laughed awkwardly.

"Girls talk, it happens…" Valka said with the wave of her hand "but I believe you have some work that should be done"

"Moooom…" Hiccup groaned.

"Go home and do your work or Astrid can't come over to play" Hiccup grumbling stood up, and trudged away, Toothless following behind him. Valka smiled to herself, knowing just how much she had missed those years she was gone, but making up for it bit by bit.

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**Yeah, so I'm actually gonna make this into an actual story, so now I shall be returning to *drum roll***

**Review reviews:**

**Chancey74: aw thank you! Yeah, I mean, I think Older was a good first start into writing, but it didn't go in the direction I hoped it would! But that's ok. But for you second question, I am thinking about putting the oc's in (not erets tho idk, felt weird writing about her), but I'm not sure, they got so much love in older. What do you think? Should I? **

**Hiccupisnotuseless: thank you! Yeah, you read my mind, I was planning on writing snotstrid next! (though I lost track of time and I just realized today that I hadn't written anything) as for everything else, everything is fine, thank you for asking. And yeah, older was good, i'm hoping that this story will be even better though! Cause with Older I kinda was trying to incorporate stuff from the new movie even though I started writing the story before… which was a bad decision.**

**Thanks to everyone else that left reviews! They were all so sweet! Leave any thoughts as reviews and I shall answer questions in review reviews**


	5. Chapter 5: New Neighbors

Astrid leaned back with a sigh, feeling Hiccup expertly rub her shoulders after years of practice.

"How was training?" He asked, finding a particularly big knot.

"Kicked Snotlout's butt." She replied with a triumphant smile.

"Oh, so the usual"

"Yep"

"Any complaining?"

"Surprisingly little, he just talked himself up the entire time… I think he was giving himself a pep talk" Astrid said, furrowing her brow.

"Not surprising." He said deadpan.

"What about Fishlegs? Has he gotten over the "traumatizing literature burning"?"

"I think, he's not deterred, but right now, he's busy taking inventory and checking on the new houses, at least I think he is" Fishlegs wasn't one to skip work, if this was Snotlout, it would be a whole different story.

"Right, new neighbors coming soon?" Astrid asked jokingly

"Yeah, Eret's already moving in, I made sure that Skullcrusher was given only the finest stable-" Hiccup said with a smile. "The other families are coming today actually" His fingers meticulously worked out all the knots and Astrid's tenseness melted away.

"One thing of the chief list"

"I set up all the lanterns with Gobber"

"Two"

"I talked with my mom- you talk about me?" Hiccup asked, pausing.

"Uhm yeah? We talk about you in front of you!" Astrid exclaimed.

"What?! No you don't"

"Yes we do, you're just not listening." She shrugged and he resumed talking.

"The twins are helping Bucket and Mulch haul the fish-"

"So two fish smelling Thorstons are gonna be walking around Berk?"

"Yep, more so than they usually do"

"Alright- I think you missed something" Astrid said, and he gave her a confused look. Before he knew it, she had tugged him down for a quick kiss.

"Kiss your girlfriend! That should be at the top of the list" Astrid said playfully, standing up and putting on her hood and cauldrons.

"Oh, most sincere apologies, m'lady." The light punch to the arm was received with a smile, he knew he deserved that.

"C'mon, let's get lunch- oh! I'll cook!" Astrid said, heading towards Hiccup's kitchen. He grabbed onto her arm, getting food poisoning was not on the chiefly checklist.

"Oh I uh- Snotlout and everyone said we'd meet in Meade Hall." He wasn't lying; there was a possibility they would _be_ in Meade Hall.

"Alright, I'll cook dinner than" She replied, grabbing his hand as he opened the door for her.

"Oh I- I can't, I uh- I have to meet with Gobber… and help him make a few saddles." Ok, that was true; meeting Gobber was true, making saddles? Well if Astrid came by Gobber would definitely cover for him, but the kind of work he had in mind was something Astrid couldn't know about, at least not yet. Only Gobber knew, mostly because he walked into the forge and the gasp woke up Grump, which was a feat in and of itself.

"Fine, maybe in the morning, I'll make breakfast" Astrid smiled teasingly, though Hiccup was oblivious, too caught up in the fear of her finding out and ruining the surprise.

"You're gonna come over early?" he asked, walking down the stairs.

"Well, I'll already be there" With a squeeze of her hand he understood.

"Oh- ooooh- turns out I will be home early tonight" Astrid smirked. She loved it when he got flustered, especially because just his ears got red sometime and matched her shirt.

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Everything was how it should be. Barely any fires, the feeding stations were being filled, the cleaning stations were being fixed after a nervous Monstrous Nightmare accidently sent it ablaze, the market place was buzzing with vendors and everyone buying or selling necessities.

Fishlegs quickly took notes, writing down anything that needed to be fixed or anything that needed to be resolved. This was the one time he allowed himself to take a break from thinking about tactics of trying to win the Thorston twin, work came first, besides, girls liked a hard working guy, right?

The charcoal notes on parchment were meticulous, surprisingly neat from someone with large hands. Meatlug walked with him, occasionally wondering off if something got her attention but would return to his side immediately.

The docks had even less going on, though there were a few boats docked and unloading things such as boxes and some furniture. That must have been the people moving. Normally people don't just move to Berk, Berk was way off the radar for most, but one family had direct ties and another brought much needed business

He turned around to go take a much needed lunch break but only got just outside Meade Hall when all thoughts of lunch left his mind.

Carrying a large crate, she passed by, a Gronkle trudging after her, laden with boxes and barrels. The Gronkle had no saddle, and had a ribbon tied around its neck, which was surprising. The stout girl walked with a smile, hair pulled back into two thick braids, didn't notice as he continued to walk without paying attention and tripped on the steps.

He was red in the face as he stood up, ignoring the obvious pain from hitting his knee on the stone steps, since embarrassed enough. He rubbed his head, hoping no one had seen anything. No one was around and the only one that could have witnessed it was walking away, braids swaying. He shook his head, giving the Gronkle one last glance, time to watch a bowl filled with books topple off the Gronkle, which went unnoticed by both the girl and the dragon.

Fishlegs looked around, wondering if anyone else had seen it. He couldn't just leave it there, as someone who loved books; he would appreciate if someone brought him his books after he lost them.

Meatlug was first to reach the pile; Fishlegs stopping her from trying to eat whatever she thought seemed appetizing.

"No, you don't eat books- why would you even eat books?" he asked her. She did eat rocks though, and she had eaten questionable things in the past, so books were a slight step up. He the books up, examining a worn leather one that had tabs and pieces of parchment sticking out. It had been open when he picked it up, so he didn't count it as snooping as he examined it. A cookbook, a note filled cookbook to be exactly. It could have been a notebook, which it probably was, all the recipes written down by the owner. Loose pieces of parchment were shoved into various sections, each one containing recipes that didn't fit in the book itself. No wonder Meatlug had tried to eat it, it smelled like the recipes in the book, he was sure if he opened a page he would find flour crammed in the seams. The other two books were closed, so he picked up the bowl and placed the three books in it, making it easier to carry.

Fishlegs looked up to see she was gone, long having walked away with her Gronkle following her.

"It probably won't take that long… Berk _is _an island" He told Meatlug, who blinked and began walking in the direction the girl had gone. He assumed it would be easy, but he hadn't thought of all the variables. Fishlegs had never seen her before, so she was probably moving into one of the houses, but which one? He wasn't about to check all of them, they were too scattered on Berk.

"Have you seen a girl, kinda short, brown hair, Gronkle following her with a ribbon on?" He received shaking head or people saying, "I'm too busy to notice something like that".

It became a mission, whoever that girl was probably needed this book, and he would find her, eventually.

Fishlegs was trudging along now, Meatlug doing the exact same until they saw the beribboned Gronkle, curled up outside of a house, bare of any paint. It looked up at them as they approached, Meatlug happily waddling over to the other dragon and plopping down not too far away. The other Gronkle gave him an uninterested, if he had known better, a rather unpleased look as he walked towards the house.

He awkwardly knocked on the door, and instead of the girl, a short man opened the door, raising a bushy eyebrow.

"Yeah?" The man asked, looking Fishlegs up and down.

""Oh I uhm- hi- uh, does a short, brunette live here?" Fishlegs asked awkwardly.

"Me?"

"... Short, brunette, girl?"

"I'm only messing with you" The man chuckled. He leaned inside, partly closing the door as he talked to whoever was in the room.

"There's a guy here for you- I don't know who he is!- he's got your books-" The door was opened again and the braided girl was standing there in place of who Fishlegs could only guess was her father.

"Oh uh- fell off your Gronkle-" He said, awkwardly handing her the bowl of books.

"Thank you" She replied sweetly, smiling delightedly.

"So uhm- you're new here?" Fishlegs asked. What else was he supposed to do? 'Here's you stuff, bye' wasn't exactly polite.

"Yeah, better business." She said with a nod.

"What's his name?" Came a yell from inside. This was a woman's voice, which sounded old enough to be her mother.

"Oh- I'm Fishlegs" He shook her smaller hand.

"Rosethorn"

"It's nice to meet you-" Suddenly there was a large redheaded woman peering behind Rosethorn.

"He seems nice- oh! Would you show her around?"

"Mom"

"I bet he'd do it if you asked, Rosie" Her mother said, as if Fishlegs wasn't standing there.

"I'll show you around- if you want-" He had barely finished talking when the bowl was taken from Rosethorn and her mom shut the door behind her. She looked embarrassed, which wasn't surprising.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Astrid snickered as Snotlout came up with pick up lines, each one getting worse. Ruffnut had long since tuned him out, looking at Eret who was sitting some tables away.

"I hope I choke on my food so I don't have to sit through this" Tuffnut groaned, shoving Snotlout out of his seat.

"Hey!" Snotlout grunted, pushing his helmet out of his eyes.

"Whoops, didn't see you there, shorty" Ruffnut reached up, not taking her eyes of Eret and high-fived her brother.

"That was worse than Hookfang burns" Hiccup smirked.

"It wasn't even that good" Snotlout grumbled.

"Give it a rest" Astrid said as she took a sip of meade.

"More meade, princess?" Snotlout asked, recovering from the comments.

"Are you going to be here longer?" Ruffnut asked, though it sounded more like a groan.

"Yeah"

"I'm gonna need it" She said, handing him her mug with annoyance. This was the only upside to being the only singe woman, which in no way outweighed all the horrible down sides. Snotlout smirked happily, missing what she meant, and walked away as Tuffnut snickered.

"How long do you think until he flexes again?" Astrid asked aloud.

"My money's on before lunch is over" Hiccups said, putting down his mug.

"Five on before he comes back to the table" Tuffnut drawled.

"Before he finishes his lunch" Astrid contributed her bet. Ruffnut rolled her eyes at them, but glanced over at Snotlout, who was walking back over with full mugs.

"Hey Snot- Flex" Snotlout practically dropped the mugs trying to follow Ruffnut's orders. Hiccup and Astrid shared groans, sliding their money to Tuffnut, Ruffnut snatching her share away.

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Haha, yes so I did end up putting rose in! everyone said how much they liked her and I couldn't resist, besides, I haven't actually written written about her in a long while. But I'm a sucker, and I hope that everyone will enjoy and I can already here you asking "but the Fishlegs, snotlout ruffnut triangle". Honey, that's definitely gonna be present, cause I love it and also for other reasons that I can't say cause it'll spoil it! (not really but I don't wanna give too much away)

Also, I always end up publishing at like 12 am which is not good? But my sleep schedule is messed up. Adding onto that, my schedule in general is wacky so sorry for the weird update times, they're gonna be sporadic for a lil while

Review reviews:

G: awww, thank you! That's so sweet, don't worry, I'm sorta like that sometimes but I just want Fishlegs to end up with a cute girl in general? Or like a hundred dragons. But don't worry, I'm probably gonna get carried away and put her in more than I meant. I would like to put the book characters in, but I've never read the books (the shame) and I feel like I would make them horribly ooc if I tried and ah

Brooke: I am well, which is half a lie cause school is soul crushing, but do able

SecretKoalas394: Thank you sooo much, I'm so delighted you liked Older! Rosethorn will be in this, though different circumstances as you can tell, but still the same. It'll be better cause like, the other fanfic was kinda serious and idk why I thought that plot was a good idea, but now I'm free to do whatever I please and put as much fluff about everything in.

And thank you to everyone else that left reviews! Sorry I did not do all of them, but I tried to do the ones that asked questions. Please leave reviews (they're nice in general, plus you can ask questions if you want :] )


	6. Chapter 6: Completed Pendants

"So ye finally decided tae show up?" Gobber asked, not even turning around while he hammered in another gold tooth. This Nadder had more fake than real teeth, but looked pleased as it showed its owner its new fangs.

"Hey, I have other things to do" Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't get yer undies in a knot, I'm just jokin" The Viking chuckled, pulling up his mask as turning to him. Hiccup had left soon after Astrid had said she had to go do chores, but not before watching Ruffnut dump her meade into Snotlout's lap after he tried to sit next to her.

"Here it is- it looks good if ye ask me-" Gobber pushed aside tools on his shelf and pulled out a waded up rag, though that was only for protection. He handed Hiccup the little bundle, careful not to open it. Thin fingers carefully unwrapped the intricate metal piece.

"It's not done yet" Hiccup examined it, his eyes finding all the tiny imperfections. It had to be perfect, absolutely perfect, as perfect as the wearer… if she said yes. He would think about her answer later, not wanting to delve into that stressful idea.

Gobber smiled excitedly anyway, peering at the silver.

"Oh- she'll love tha', I know she will- this is so exciting!" Gobber said happily, giving Grump a good rub.

"Gobber, you're gonna burn yourself" Hiccup said with a small laugh, watching Gobber practically danced around the forge.

"No Ah won't! Just get to it-"

"It'll be done when it's done"

"Ye've been sayin tha' for- lets see- one, two- three months? Ye've got to hurry up- even Ah'm gettin' antsy. Don't worry so much about I', she'll love it- especially knowing ye made it!"

Hiccup sighed, turning the piece around in his hand. He already had made the chain, he had polished it until it could blind him, but the pendant itself was giving him trouble, though only in his own mind.

He quickly got to work, putting on the blackened dirty apron and rolling up the sleeves of his tunic, having experienced what fire and a sleeve could do far too many times.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Normally, Fishlegs talked, which he was doing right now, but not usually this long. He could talk for hours, but normally someone would cut in or tell him to stop talking, usually Snotlout or the twins. But he waited for Rosethorn to tell him to stop, to say she had seen enough as he told her exactly when everything was built, where everything was, what everything did and who everyone was. She simply gave him a small nod every once in a while to say she was still listening.

He must have been twenty minutes into telling her the history of Meade hall when he realized he had been rambling.

"Really? Only twice?" Rosethorn asked, sitting on the steps.

"Yeah, not any time recently, but back when the dragon raids were more common. First it burned down because of an actual dragon, second time it burned down was because of a misplaced torch next to a whole lot of mead" He said with a nod.

"Alright, what next?" She asked with a smile. He turned a little red, but gave her an enthusiastic smile.

"Oh- well there's the hangar- but that's on the other side of the island- the forge is over there" Fishlegs soon was leading her toward the forge, talking the entire time over.

"So… why did you come here?" He asked, as she made sure not to step on a Terror.

"My dad used to live here… but he left for trade, and wanted to come back, especially after he heard what happened…" She said, eyeing a large chunk of ice that was still not melted since the attack. "Besides, we heard Berk could use a good baker"

"We used to have one…" The old baker could hardly make anything worth buying. Bread hard as rocks or ashes. The Gronkles liked them though, but Gronkles were not who would buy them. "Who- oh here"

He quickly opened the door to the forge for her. "It is a forge, but now a days it makes saddles, riding equipment, new-"

Hiccup turned around as he heard Fishlegs, burning himself as he frantically hid the pendant.

Fishlegs raised an eyebrow as Hiccup gave him a huge awkward smile, leaning in an uncomfortable way on his workbench.

"Heeey." Hiccup said, not moving as nodded at the brunette standing next to Fishlegs.

"Hi" She gave him a confused look, wondering if he was always like this.

"Oh- this is Hiccup" Fishlegs said suddenly, wondering if the chief was ok. Hiccup didn't move, instead extending his hand for her to shake.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Rosethorn" She said, Hiccup trying not to wince as she shook his burned hand.

"Nice to meet you too" He said, smiling through the pain.

"So uh- this is where we make the saddles, Gobber mostly does dental work" Fishlegs nodded to the prosthetic wearing Viking who gave them a wave before lowering his visor as another dragon stuck it's head through the window.

"Hey Fishlegs, why don't you show her Meade Hall?" Hiccup said quickly.

"I... already did" The large blonde gave him a hard look, trying to figure out why he was acting weird.

"How about the hangar?" Taking the hint, Fishlegs nodded, opening the door for Rosethorn.

"Sure" He said, casting a look behind him as they walked out, Hiccup breathing a sigh of relief as the door close behind them.

"Wha' a nice first impression." Gobber said, looking into the Nightmare's mouth.

"They were going to find out!" Hiccup said, putting his thumb in his mouth. "If one person finds out, then Astrid will know before the day is over."

"Small island" Gobber muttered, pulling out his pliers.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Astrid walked next to Stormfly, carrying two buckets of water while Stormfly carried another. She paused when she saw Fishlegs walking with a girl.

"Are you seeing this?" Astrid said to Stormfly as the girl laughed and Fishlegs turned a little red.

"Looks like Ruffnut has some competition." Astrid couldn't believe she said that with a straight face. Stormfly rattled her tail spikes in agreement.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"You would not believe all the cool stuff he showed me, they have dragon races, and there's a whole huge hangar where most of the dragons stay in and they have this whole aqua duct system for fires-" The brunette went on, folding furs as her friend said with her feet propped up. Even if it was supposed to be her folding it, Rosethorn had picked up the job as she talked.

"But the real question is… cute boys?" Grimhilda asked.

"I'm surprise you lasted this long without asking that… it's been what? Two hours since you got here?" Rosethorn asked, rolling her eyes.

"New record" Grimhilda replied. "But seriously, I need to know, don't tell me you didn't see any"

"I wasn't exactly looking for any"

"You've failed me, that's the number one thing you look for-"

"You need to get your priorities straight- and why am I doing this for you?" Rosethorn said, not folding the furs anymore. Grimhilda groaned, she had hoped she hadn't noticed.

"C'mon, let's go-" Folding and unpacking was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. She quickly grabbed the thicker girls hand and pulled her out the door.

"No, I have stuff to do-" Rosethorn began only to almost fall down when Grimhilda stopped running. She looked to see a surprised expression plastered on the taller girls face.

"Grim" No answer. "What are you doing?" Before she knew it, Grimhilda was squeezing her face in her hand, smooching her cheeks together and making her look ahead. "Leggo o' me"

"Look at him" Rosethorn looked, and saw a lanky, dread covered boy arguing with a shorter Viking.

"Ok?"

"I want that"

"Grim, you can't just-" Before she knew it, Grimhilda was smiling, excitedly but with an air of determination.

"He's perfect- Let's go talk to him"

"No- Are you not seeing what I'm seeing?" Rosethorn watched the boy try to shove a sheep under his shirt as the shorter Viking laughed. The taller blonde seemed to be denying that the booth owner's sheep was under his shirt, while the owner seemed used to it.

"I'm going to talk to him" Grimhilda suddenly let go, and Rosethorn watched and rubbed her face where her friends hand had squished her cheeks.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

He worked tirelessly for several days, trying to find all imperfections and fix them. Hiccup work up with a snort, groggily looking around. He was still in the forge, sitting in front of his desk. He looked down at the table, trying to find the pendant and almost started to panic before he managed to peel it off his cheek, leaving a nice mark from sleeping on it.

"What do you think?" He said tiredly, showing toothless as the dragon stirred. Toothless sniffed it and eyed it closely before nodding.

"So it's got your approval?" Hiccup said with a small laugh. Toothless gave him a slobbery lick, making his hair stand up.

"Thanks" He replied, using his sleeve to wipe the majority of the spit off. He quickly pulled out the chain, and soon it was complete. He held it up, looking at it carefully. Well, the easy part was done, now asking her.

Hiccup had balled up hundreds of papers, trying to figure out what he would say, but for now he pushed it out of his mind, it would happen when it'd happen.

He quickly hid it again, before leaving to talk to Fishlegs. See if there had been any new dragon sightings or anything out of the ordinary on Berk itself. He didn't make it far.

"What the hell?" He asked as he walked over to Snotlout, or at least Snotlout's head.

"Hey" Snotlout said, looking unfazed that only his head was sticking out of the ground.

"I've told Ruffnut she's not allowed to do this" Hiccup said, running his hand through his hair. "What did you do?"

"I got her a new hammer… and accidentally dropped it on her foot." Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Toothless" Toothless perked up, pausing his inspection of Snotlout. "Dig"

**(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)**

**sorry for not updating in a bit! I've been having some serious writers block, which suck, but gotta power through it.**

**There's grim! curtasy of non-heinous (also, she's on tumblr, and theres art of everyone including the oc's, so go look)**

**You've probably guessed what hiccups making by now, but if not, it soon shall be clearly revealed and that's about all I have. But other than that, I don't really have that much to say! leave reviews (i should probably stop saying that all the time) but really, like they affect writing more than you think, really gives a writer perspective on how they're doing!  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Don't Eat Weird Cakes

The gang gathered around the table, all trying to fit their hands into the basket Hiccup produced.

"I could make cakes better than those" Astrid scoffed, turning the pastry over in her hand.

"… I'm sure you could" Hiccup managed to choke out, wiping crumbs from his mouth.

"I can't believe she just gave you these" Snotlout said, shoving another cake into his mouth.

"I know! I didn't want her to… but she insisted-" Hiccup began. He had gone to meet the new family, he was chief after all, and Berk had started to smell sweeter since they arrived.

"She probably didn't even use any fish oil" Hiccup never ate the cakes she made the way he was eating these.

"You're not supposed to-" Fishlegs began, before Hiccup elbowed him. "Not use fish oil!"

"Maybe you could trade recipes with her?" Ruffnut snorted, trying to hide her smile. Astrid nodded, before eating one herself.

"What the hell?" She asked, reaching for another one.

"I know!" Fishlegs said. He had already paid plenty of visits to Rosethorn's kitchen, though mostly to get things for Ruffnut.

"I bet you could cook better, babe" Snotlout leered, giving Ruffnut a smile before she smashed a pastry into his face.

"Pastry face" Tuffnut cackled.

Astrid shook her head meanwhile Fishlegs wished he had thought of something that good to say.

"How did we run out of-" Hiccup said, checking the basket. This had been entirely filled only minutes ago, and his glace turned into a glare as he saw Tuffnut stuffing another into his pocket.

"What?" Tuffnut asked, crumbs falling out of his mouth.

"Alright you animals, I am going to return this- and hopefully she wont think I ate the entire thing by myself" Hiccup stood up, basket in in hand.

"Get more" Snotlout demanded, still trying to get bits of pastry out of his nose.

"Go buy some" Hiccup shot back.

"Oh! I'll go with you" Fishlegs said suddenly.

Soon the two were walking out the door, and as soon as it closed behind them, Fishlegs was talking.

"I need help! Ruffnut likes nothing I do! Snotlout's beating me- Snotlout." He exclaimed, losing to Snotlout seemed like a feat in and of itself.

"I think I'm the wrong person to ask- and I don't want to be part of… that" Hiccup couldn't believe he was asking him this.

"Well… you and Astrid-"

"That is completely different- Astrid has not tried to become a dictator- and she hasn't tried to kill me except once because I definitely deserved that"

"I don't know what to do anymore, nothing's working."

"Nothing's working for Snotlout either, so you're pretty much at the same place right now-" There was no point in trying to reason with it. Even as bizarre as it seemed, he would rather not talk about it than try to figure it out.

"But I need to beat him- being on the same level with him is-"

"You and Snotlout never get tired of this feud… ok, I am no Ruffnut expert… so I would ask someone who is-"

"Tuffnut already sold me out…"

"And that doesn't surprise me- just do what you're doing… it'll work eventually." He knew it wouldn't, but what else could he tell Fishlegs? Hiccup opened the door, walking up to the counter of the bakery.

"You're back… already?" Rosethorn asked, glancing over her shoulder as she cracked an egg into her mixing bowl.

"Oh, I loved them so much I ate the entire thing" Hiccup said sarcastically, putting the basket on the counter.

"That is both a compliment… and concerning" She said as she lowered her hand, still holding the eggshells, to what they thought was a sleeping Gronkle. Eyes still closed, the Gronkle opened his mouth, happily eating the eggshells.

"He likes those?" Fishlegs asked, examining the Gronkle.

"Oh yeah, he eats anything- as long as I let him, though I try to keep him on a solid rock diet" Rosethorn said, wiping her hands on her apron before walking over to them.

"And he's very fashionable" Hiccup commented at the ribbon around the dragons neck.

"Oh god, I hate it- it's all dirty and muddy and I've had to sew it up so many times" She sighed.

"Then… why does he-" Fishlegs asked.

"He likes it, I try to throw it out, he finds it and has a tantrum until I put it back on him- but anyway- thank you for the basket" She said, pulling the basket off the counter.

"I would love to get more… my mom would like some-" Hiccup said, pulling out his coin bag.

"Oh- and I'll get some for Ruffnut-"

"You might have the same fate as Snotlout" Hiccup countered.

"Who is Ruffnut?"

"She is the most-" Fishlegs began.

"Tall, blonde, lots of hair, she's been the center of an… argument… for some time now- how long has it been since this started?"

"Almost a year-"

"What an amazing experience it has been" Hiccup breathed; putting on a fake smile that Rosethorn could see through.

"Oh- girl fight?" She asked.

"The worst one Berk's had since the sheep trauma- two shepherds, one female sheep"

"That was horrible" Fishlegs added.

"I've seen plenty of those-" Rosethorn nodded, glancing at Fishlegs "Well, I'm gonna tell you, girls don't like it when you fight over them-"

"I have found that out…"

"We have all 'found that out'" The chief sighed.

"Well… I do have some new sweets" Rosethorn said, pulling out a tray, putting it on the counter. The tray was lined the heart shaped cookies, which smelled as good as they looked. "I even have some strawberry jam- goes very nicely with them"

"I'll take it" Fishlegs said enthusiastically.

"And… I will have more of what you wanted in an hour or two, just come back when you can" Rosethorn said as the two paid.

"Thank you so much- also… if another- I don't know if you've met her yet, her names Astrid, blond, hair in a braid, big hood- if she comes in here and tries to trade recipes with her, you will be in fish eye hell" Hiccup said seriously.

"Oh… uh- alright" She said in confusion.

"Also, don't tell her I told you that" Hiccup said as he walked out the door, followed by Fishlegs who both yelled back a "THANK YOU"

~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Snotlout trudged down the path, shoulders sagging and he could feel the mead in his boots. One slip up, a spilled drink, and he found himself under Ruffnut's mug.

The blonde lingered behind him, trying to decide if she should talk to him or not, before finally groaning to herself.

"Alright Snotlout, let's go" He barely had time to figure out who said that before Astrid was pulling him along.

"Let go of me-"

"I'm going to help you with Ruffnut-"

"WHY ARE YOU WALKING SO SLOW THEN-" He yelled, and Astrid rolled his eyes as she ran alongside him.

Soon her front door was being closed behind him and she shoved him into a seat.

"Alright, you suck at flirting" She said bluntly.

"What?! You're just jeal-"

"First off, when you flirted with me, I would have rather shit a dagger than listen to your horrible pick up lines, and I'm pretty sure that's how Ruffnut feels" Astrid took a seat across from him.

"WELL- you don't have to be so… mean about it" He pouted, crossing his arms.

"Tough love, Snotman"

"More like mean… meanness-"

"Ok do you want my help or not?"

"If it's anything like you just-"

"Snotlout-"

"Give me everything you know"

"Uh huh- that's what I thought" Astrid said smugly, leaning back in her chair and she could see the desperateness in his eyes. "You need to do exactly what I say"

Snotlout opened his mouth only to snap it shut and nod.

"Alright, leave her alone"

"What?"

"You're being so overwhelming, you're overwhelming me and everyone else and we're not on the receiving end! Leave her alone, just treat her how you used to, not so desperate, or clingy or… whatever it is that you do"

"And how does this work?"

"Don't you trust me? As the only other female friend you have-"

"Alright- alright-"

"Treat her normally, maybe be nice, if you open the door for her, don't gloat or add more to it, don't treat her like your "princess""

"She is my-"

"Right now, she is a princess, and you're being the crazy suitor, princesses don't end up with the crazy suitor" She decided to be nicer after what she said, there were plenty more things she could have called him.

"Alright…"

"Good! Now, go and… do whatever you were going to do before I kidnapped you-"

"I was gonna find Ruffnut a-"

"Don't do that- just go- she is your friend, treat her like one" Astrid spoke as she lead him to the door, closing it behind him. It had gone on long enough, she didn't know if Ruffnut even liked the two or not, but Snotlout would be a better fit, at least he could try… In the meantime, she had pastries to make and a baker to impress.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Why hadn't Eret responded? She had sent her fifth poorly written and vulgar letter, and he had yet to respond. He had business to settle before he could become a permanent resident of Berk, on his terms, everyone else had welcomed him with opened arm. Little did she know that he never read any of the letters, didn't open them either, left them more some sea monster to eat as soon as he saw the name on the letter.

"What's your problem?" Tuffnut asked, picking something out of Belch's teeth. Both had set to work grooming their dragon in it's his stable, though Ruffnut silently cleaned Barf instead of trying to get Tuffnut, Snotlout, or Fishlegs to do it.

"Eret hasn't-" Before she could finish, Tuffnut made a barfing sound, sticking out his tongue.

"Ugh- forget I asked" He grumbled.

With a hiss that even made Tuffnut take two, she got up and left. She slowly made her way down into the center of the village, deciding torture would lift her spirits. Fishlegs did try, but he was too much of a scaredy yak, Snotlout on the other hand would do it, but wouldn't realize his own torture, and torture isn't torture unless the victim is miserable.

"Why do you look so happy?" She grunted as she saw Astrid pass by with a smile, holding a bag that reeked.

"I'm going to show have someone who could be a proper judge try my cakes" Astrid said triumphantly.

"I want to see this- for no real reason- let's go" Ruffnut said, and Astrid happily obliged, both walking along though Astrid didn't notice Ruffnut's smile.

"Hello- what…" Astrid said as she walked into the bakery.

"Hi" She had been warned about two blonde girls… and here both of them were…

"Wait- you're the baker?" Astrid asked, walking up to the counter.

"Yes?"

"Oh- I had no idea!" Astrid had wrongly assumed it was her mother. "For some reason I thought… never mind… I wanted to welcome you to Berk!"

"Oh, well thank you-"

"And she has a surprise for you" Ruffnut cackled, rubbing her hands together. Rosethorn raised an eyebrow, watching as the blonde with a single braid put a sack on the table.

"I am Astrid Hofferson- it's nice to meet you first off, also, I was wondering if you could try these for me"

"Oh, so you must be Ruffnut" Rosethorn said with a nod, glancing at the girl with poor posture.

"And you know that because?"

"The chief and Fishlegs were just here and- told me about some of their friends because I'm new" She said slowly. "Anyway, what do you want me to try?"

"These- I just made them- secret Hofferson recipe"

Rosethorn tried not to wrinkle her nose at them as Astrid handed her one. Fisheye hell indeed.

"Why- what did you put- in these?" she asked, trying not to figure out if it was looking at her.

"Can't say! Unless you're allergic to something-"

"… Uhm- I'm not… alright well… next time you might… not want to put it directly into the fire…" Rosethorn said, noting the completely chard side.

"That's how it gets most of its flavor"

"Ok then" Rosethorn gave her a fake smile before taking a bite and immediately regretting it.

"Do you like it?" Astrid asked excitedly. She watched her closely, and Rosethorn realized she would have to swallow it.

Before Rosethorn could reply, Hiccup walked in to pick up his cakes, and new exactly what was happening as he glanced at Ruffnut's face.

"Hey! Astrid! What a coincidence! I needed to talk to you!" Hiccup said, much too loudly for normal. As Astrid turned around, Rosethorn quickly hid the cake, already feeling her stomach churning from it.

"What?" Astrid asked, and hiccup glanced to see Rosethorn had gotten rid of the rest of it.

"I needed to talk to you about how cute you are" He said with a cheesy smile. Ruffnut made a disgusted face as Astrid turned a bit red and gave him a bright smile.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes as she gave him a peck and walked out the door, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh- are the cakes ready?" Hiccup asked as he passed Astrid.

"Here you go" Rosethorn said with a smile, handing him a basket and trying to ignore the pain in her stomach.

"Oh- you ate the whole thing!" Astrid said with delight.

"It was…" the brunette watched as Hiccup nodded his head and put his thumbs up. "I've never had anything quite like it before."

"You can have the rest if you want!"

"Oh- oh no please, thank you but I wouldn't want you to waste these on me-" Rosethorn said desperately.

"Oh- you're right- I think these really came together- they're probably my best batch yet- oh! I should give some to your mother!" Astrid smiled at Hiccup, who wrapped an arm around her waist, basket in hand.

"Great plan" His mother was the only person on Berk that could stomach her cooking. "Thanks again"

"No problem" Rosethorn said, waving after them before doubling over "Oh gods"

Pudge looked up, and Rosethorn sat down next to him.

"Pudge- if I die- you can have the bakery.

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Fishlegs sat on the steps, hugging the basket of cookies and eating one every once in a while. Completely rejected, Ruffnut wouldn't even touch the basket because "you already gunked it up". Meatlug sat beside him, feeling the air of disappointment around him.

"I don't know what I'm going to do- she doesn't like anything I do!" He complained, handing Meatlug a cookie.

It was starting to get dark, though he felt no need to get up. There were only a few things to do in the morning, normal chores followed by work, which was no problem, so there was no rush.

Rosethorn tiredly walked out of her house, deciding that if she threw up again, her stomach would come out entirely. She knew there was a healer, though she wasn't exactly sure where she was.

As she walked by, looking green, she decided to take a detour.

"Didn't work?" She asked Fishlegs, sitting down for fear she might get sick.

"She wouldn't even touch them"

"Sorry, maybe next time-" She said with a shrug. Fishlegs glanced at her only to raise his eyebrows.

"Oh gods- are you feeling alright?"

"No- not really-"

"What happened?! You look-" He stopped himself, if he was having problems with Ruffnut, having problems with someone else would not help.

"Horrible? Cause my outsides… are matching my insides" She said, motioning to herself. "This girl- Astrid- she had me try some of-"

"Oh I'm surprised you've made it this long without dying then" He said, looking her over.

"Oh no, I am dying, I'm probably already dead, and being punished because I lied and told her they were great"

"What did you eat?"

"A little… cake? I don't know if it was a cake… I don't know what it was- it was a secret family recipe"

"Oh- that's the worst out of all of them- ok, we have a system- c'mon-"

"What? No I'm just going to… the healer person-"

"You will most likely die before you reach the top at this point- I've known Astrid a really long time, and perfected the treatment if she ever has you eat anything she makes"

Rosethorn hesitantly looked at the hand he held out to her. With a sigh she took it and he helped her up.

"What exactly is your 'perfected treatment'?" She asked as they walked along.

"A lot of tea Gothi- the healer- taught me how to make"

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"Hey Snot butt-" Ruffnut called, watching Snotlout walk past holding an assortment of weapons. Gobber had just finished sharpening them, and even though his father had no real use for them anymore, he liked them sharp and shiny. It was dark and he was tired, but he perked up hearing Ruffnut.

"What?" He asked, turning towards her.

"I was just going to ask if you could get something for me- though I doubt you'll beat Fishlegs, he's already doing it, but I thought you could do it faster" A complete lie.

"Sorry, I'm going home" He said simply, and with all his willpower, he kept walking, leaving her with a confused expression. She watched him leave. He never said no to her, and she at least expected a pet name or something.

With a huff, she turned around and walked home, not knowing how to describe how she was feeling.

"Where did you get those?" Ruffnut asked as soon as she saw Tuffnut, who now had new boots, somehow studded with more spikes than before.

"I met this girl at the market when I was showing chicken the third around" Tuffnut said, holding up a chick.

"Oh what- since when did the eggs hatch-"

"Since your bad breath was enough to make them come crawling out-" he cackled only to be met by a smack. "HEY! I'm holding a chicken the third here"

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The pain and nausea had subsided and now Rosethorn was laughing and smiling again, on her fifth cup of tea.

"A hundred and fifty three books?" She asked.

"That's after the twins managed to ruin most of them" Fishlegs replied, proud of his library, though he was still building it.

"Wow, I haven't bothered to count how many I have…"

"Well I like keeping an extensive hold on what is in stock"

"What's the biggest book you have? Page wise?"

"Eight fifty-"

"Oooh, one thousand!"

"What?"

"Yep, it's just a bunch of stories- this guy traveled around and added a whole bunch of stories from wherever he traveled- there is more than one book- I only have three of them"

"How did you even get that?"

"My dad likes haggling… more than what should be humanly possible."

"Same with my mom" Who was luckily asleep, other wise she would be going up the walls knowing there was a guest in their kitchen who she had not met yet.

"So… no go with these?" Rosethorn asked, opening the basket.

"She's… just picky…"

"Sounds like it… she seems nice- then again she wanted me to eat the death cookies"

"That sounds like her…"

"You didn't even open the jam- you would have definitely gotten her with it-" She said, opening the sealed pot of red.

"I was too heartbroken to notice-"

"…"

"Ok I forgot and didn't see it buried under the cookies- which are great by the way"

"They're super easy to make- that's why I had time to cut them up into hearts…" She told him, reaching in for one.

"I'm gonna say I told you so if you throw up after eating" He said, watching her pause.

"I am starving- and I'll teach you how to make these as reimbursement"

He gave her an unconvinced look before pulling out a bowl and putting it in front of her.

"Just don't throw up on me"

"I will just cause you said that"

"Ew"

"Hey, I'm eating these properly- unlike you- wasting them" She said, spreading jam with the knife she kept with her.

"You could have asked for a real knife"

"I don't want you to have to clean it up once I'm done- besides, you don't want me to eat anyway"

"Fine- then at least let me use it-"

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**and I am here and I am sorry there hasn't been any new updates recently. I have had horrible writers block and… a lot of things happened, but anyway, I am here! And hopefully will be getting back to writing soon! Not much to be said, but reviews would be greatly appreciated! Helps me know what y'all want more of cause I live to please **

**wingedflower: Hahaha it gets worse**

**guest: Tuffnut, cause grim's got a weird taste in men**

**G: talking about writers block, I've had a serious case of the stuff fml**

**non-heinous: ah sorry for no grim except for a mention in this chapter, she'll come in more later. Also let it be known Snotlout would do anything for his princess**

**Lighting's Halo: all will be revealed in time**


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